By Rita Shirley LeBleu

Thursday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 19, approximately 200 volunteers, workers and support personnel came together for the Love Our Waterways Cameron Beach Sweep in Beachfront Development District #1.

“What an incredible day,” said Michele Long, chair. “Together we cleaned approximately nine miles of Cameron Parish coastline and collected an incredible 615 bags of trash. Thank you to every volunteer.”

That was just the bagged trash, according to Long. Crews also removed large and unusual debris including propane tanks, kayaks, canopy frames, pallets, ship rope, drain hoses, washed-up tar, large waste drums and more.

Every year, volunteers are asked to keep their unusual small finds aside, and the finder of the most unusual of these items wins a prize. The prize winning item this year was an empty bottle shaped like a man’s torso.

Thankfully, the temperature didn’t rise above the high 80s that morning, but it was warm enough that most people were eager to head to the Johnson Bayou Recreation Center around noon to grab a cool drink and something to eat. Many won $25 gift card door prizes.

Long issued a special thank you to the Johnson Bayou Rec. Center for preparing the delicious lunch for hardworking volunteers.

Sponsors and industry partners include Wastehaul, Cheniere, Cameron LNG, Sempra Infrastructure, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Venture Global, ReCon, Commonwealth and Delphin.

Many agencies and organizations helped, Long said. She listed Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Department, Johnson Bayou Fire and EMS, Johnson Bayou Roads and Bridges, the Cameron Pilot, Cameron Beachfront Development District #1, Cameron Parish Tourism, International Crane Foundation, Audubon Aquarium Rescue.

“This is what can happen when our residents, businesses, industry partners, first responders, local government, conservation organizations and volunteers all come together for a common purpose,” Long said.